


42 Recreational Uses for a Stopwatch Part I: Racing

by Amuly



Series: 42 Recreational Uses for a Stopwatch [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-30
Updated: 2010-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-03 23:20:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/387107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amuly/pseuds/Amuly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Uses 1-13 for a stopwatch. All somehow "racing" related.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Racing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uses 1-13 for a stopwatch. All somehow "racing" related.

  


_ 1\. :21 _

“One…two…three…go!” 

The gun recoiled in Jack’s hands as the sound of gunshots filled the shooting range. Racing across the range, Jack unloaded three shots in each target. Ugly Vogon: one, two, three. Tentacle monster: one, two, three. Human: one, two, three. Six targets, and one magazine clip later, Jack held his gun over his head. “Time!”

To his right at the beginning of the range, Ianto pressed the stopwatch. “Twenty-three seconds.” 

Grimacing, Jack set the gun down on one of the tables and started to reload the clips. “If I had my…”

“You would have an unfair advantage. As it is, you’ve had a few centuries more practice than me, but there’s nothing we can do about that.” Ianto had walked over, and was now loading the second clip next to Jack. 

Both clips loaded, Jack handed his over to Ianto, who had already pressed his into the gun, cocking it and checking the safety. Jack leaned in as he handed him the clip. “You know, you’re incredibly sexy with a firearm…”

Brusquely, Ianto plucked the clip from Jack’s hands and handed over the stopwatch. “Save your libido. You’ll need it after I’m finished with these targets.”

Jack raised his eyebrows in amusement. Stepping back, he watched Ianto walk to the beginning of the range. A nod between the two of them, and Jack turned to the stopwatch. “On your mark…get set…go!”

Jack’s amusement quickly turned to shock as Ianto raced fluidly down the line, pumping bullets into the targets more quickly and accurately than Jack had. Hands over his head at the end of the range, Ianto shouted back at Jack “Time!”

“Damn it! How’d you do that?” 

Ianto jogged over to Jack, smiling expectantly. “Well?”

“Twenty-one seconds.”

Ianto placed the gun down on the table and pulled Jack in for a vicious kiss. Before Jack had a chance to respond, Ianto had pulled back and was hurrying off the range. Jack stared after him a moment, until he called over his shoulder, “Well come on. I want to claim my prize.”

Jack tucked the stopwatch in his pocket and jogged after him.

_ 2\. :32 _

The amber liquid glinted in the four pints sitting on the bar in front of the two men. Ianto eyed them warily; Jack was grinning. “I don’t know about this, Jack. You’re just trying to get me drunk.”

Jack shook his hand and swiped his hands out in front of him. “No way. This is an old Time Agent drinking game. Normally it would be with space ale,” Jack shrugged, “but this’ll do in a pinch.”

Ianto continued to stare down at the four pints of ale before him. “So, a drinking game you used to play as a Time Agent just happens to involve getting me drunk while you stay sober, as well as a stopwatch, one of my particular...well,” Ianto shot a glance around the bar and then raised an eyebrow at Jack, “you know how much I enjoy the stopwatch.”

Jack feigned innocence. “No, really. Honestly. Old drinking game.” 

When Jack just kept smiling earnestly at Ianto, he finally gave in. “Alright. Just drink them as fast as possible?”

Ianto tried his best to ignore the too-wide grin splitting Jack’s face. Oh, this was not a good idea. Flourishing the stopwatch, Jack held it out in front of them before nodded at Ianto. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Puffing up his cheeks and blowing air out, Ianto picked up the first pint. He took a moment to stare it down, as if that would defeat the alcohol poisoning he was sure to get. He glanced over at Jack, who was still grinning _way_ too much. Bugger it all. Inhaling deeply, Ianto brought the glass up to his mouth and began to drink.

He could hear Jack start the stopwatch and its ticking as he downed the first pint. One down. Taking a breath as he lifted the glass, he began downing the second one. Those lessons Jack had given him about opening up his throat were actually coming in handy. Well, coming in handy somewhere besides…

There, two down. He vaguely heard Jack say “twenty seconds” as he began to pour the third pint down his throat. Ugk, why did he even agree to this? A few drops of the ale escaped the sides of his mouth, rolling down his chin. Ianto did his best to ignore them. Third pint, finished. Grabbing the last pint, Ianto tilted his head back, throat contracting as he swallowed it. He counted in his head _three, four, five, six_ …done. 

Gasping, Ianto set down the last empty glass. Reaching for a napkin, he went to wipe spilt ale off his face. Before he could, Jack was there, tongue thrusting into his mouth and lapping up the taste of ale. Ianto moaned into the kiss, letting Jack invade his mouth. It was wet, and sticky, and tasted like beer, but it left Ianto panting and hard.

Jack pulled back, eyes dilated with lust, staring down at Ianto’s mouth. “Thirty-two seconds.” Ianto blinked. He had forgotten they were timing it. Of course, he couldn’t really be blamed: the way Jack was staring at his throat had a tendency to drive all not Jack-related thoughts from his head. “Back to yours?”

Ianto stood slightly unsteadily, smirking down at Jack. The ale was already affecting him. “See, I knew you just wanted to get me drunk…” Ianto closed one eye as he smiled at Jack. 

For his part, Jack stood up and looped an arm under Ianto’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s not like I need to get you drunk. It’s just fun.”

_ 3\. :39 _

Jack and Ianto stood facing each other, right hands holding a dollop of lube in their palms. “Now, wait, who wins?”

Jack fiddled with the stopwatch, eager to get on with it. “What do you mean, who wins?”

“Well, am I trying not to come and make you come first, or I am I trying to come first and not let you come first?” 

“Um…”

“Exactly. So who wins?” 

“Whoever gets the other off first.”

Ianto considered this for a moment. “So I’m trying to get you off quickly, while not getting off myself?” 

“Yeah. I think.”

“Alright, ready to start time?”

“Yup. And…go!”

There was a momentary struggle as both men reached for the other’s cock, and then both were furiously stroking, using every trick they knew to bring the other to orgasm. Ianto gasped as Jack’s hand stroked hard, thumb pressing down on and spreading the slit on the pull back…bad idea to focus on that right now. Instead, Ianto tried to focus on Jack. Spreading the lube carefully over the whole shaft, Ianto stroked his arousal firmly, root to tip. He let his fingernail trace a line on the vein underneath, and felt Jack shudder beneath him. Almost. Stroking more times, he tried the trick again, finding it less effective the second time. Damn.

He could feel himself getting close and gritted his teeth. Jack’s firm hand was stroking him to completion. Then Jack twisted his wrist once, twice, and then two fingers were reaching down to ghost over his balls on the third pass…

Ianto came into Jack’s hand, cursing in his head. Jack had never tried _that_ trick before. He vaguely registered Jack coming soon after, and both men stood there, panting, waiting for the high from their orgasm to subside. The next thing Ianto knew, the stopwatch was being shoved into his hand, and he glanced down at it. “Bloody hell, thirty-nine seconds. You have to show me what you did with your fingers there, sometime.”

Jack’s arms wrapped around Ianto’s back and he whispered in his ear “Well, now’s as good a time as ever…”

_ 4\. :45 _

“I’ll even give you a five minute handicap.”

Jack rolled the stopwatch over his fingers, considering Ianto’s offer. “Five minute handicap, and we pick each other’s item to retrieve?” 

Ianto nodded. “Yup.”

Jack stopped twirling the stopwatch and gripped it in his hand. “Alright, deal. Where’s the archive inventory?”

Ianto pulled out his PDA and offered it to Jack. “Pick anything you want.”

Scrolling through the items, Jack picked something he knew was old, useless, and therefore something Ianto was not likely to have ever run into. “This: item number five-seven-eight-three.”

Ianto glanced at the screen Jack proffered to him, then nodded. “Alright, start the time.” 

Jack clicked the stopwatch on, watching as Ianto dashed into the maze of cabinets, rooms, and shelving that was the Torchwood archive. Within ten seconds he couldn’t see him anymore, and within fifteen Ianto’s footsteps faded away to silence, leaving Jack alone with the ticking of the stopwatch. 

Another twenty seconds and he heard Ianto’s footsteps pounding on the ground again. Jack laughed and shouted out. “Did you forget the item number? I…”

Jack stopped short as Ianto ran to him, skidding to a stop and bending over, hands on his knees. “Here.” Ianto held up the item: a journal from 1923. 

Starting back to his senses, Jack stopped the stopwatch. “Forty-five seconds. How the hell…”

Ianto shook his head, straightening as he caught his breath. “Got lucky. I had to sort that item when I first got here, because the years 1900-1939 were all jammed into a single room, with no order.”

Setting the journal on the ground, Ianto slipped the stopwatch out of Jack’s fingers, who was still in shock at the time. “Your turn.” Ianto flipped through his PDA quickly. “This item.” Jack glanced down at the item number, then took off down the winding corridors of the archives.

Twenty minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, Jack called out. “Ianto? Ianto? I’m lost. Ianto? How do I get out of here!”

A hand wrapped around his waist, fingers ghosting at his waistband. Jack shivered as Ianto pressed his mouth to his ear, whispering “Excellent job, sir. We’re far enough away from prying eyes for me to claim my prize, uninterrupted.”

Jack groaned as Ianto unzipped Jack’s fly and slipped his hand inside. “Was the…plan…all along.” 

_ 5\. 1:12 _

Ianto stood in Jack’s room, naked and tapping his foot. “For the record, I think this is ridiculous.”

An equally naked Jack stood in front of Ianto, grinning. “What about this is ridiculous? This is what stopwatches were _made_ for.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “For some reason, I think the original intent of the stopwatch was not anything like what you’re proposing we use it for.”

Exasperated, Jack threw up his hands. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Besides, you know what you get if you win, right?”

An eye roll and a hand through his hair later, Ianto nodded. “Alright, fine. Are you ready?”

Cheekily, Jack grinned. “Aren’t I always ready for this?”

Choosing to ignore the comment, Ianto held the stopwatch in his left hand. “Go.” He depressed the button on the top, and both men began masturbating furiously. Glancing over at Jack, Ianto hit him with his left hand. “One hand, Jack!”

Jack took his second hand away from his balls and moaned lewdly. “Hit me again, Ianto…” 

He would never admit it, but watching Jack masturbate _was_ an incredible turn on. Panting, Ianto focused on the movements of Jack’s hand, remembering all the times it had moved over _his_ arousal like that, all the time his tongue had traced a path down his shaft, over his balls, sometimes sliding back to lick at the tight ring of muscle before he entered him…

With a groan, Ianto came in his hand, depressing the stopwatch button at the same time. A moment later he heard Jack groaning his name as he reached completion. Ianto’s eyes were closed, so he didn’t notice Jack moving toward him until he felt strong arms wrap around him, pulling him over to the cot. “Come on. Come claim your prize…”

Ianto grinned, letting Jack lead him to the cot and crawling in with him. He glanced at the stopwatch briefly before setting it on the table above their heads. “One twelve.” He arched up into the kiss and let Jack give him his prize. 

_ 6\. 1:17 _

Ianto shifted, uncomfortable in the trainers he had on. Plucking at his tank top and sweat pants, he looked over at Jack. “Is the whole outfit really necessary? I could just take off my dress shoes. I don’t need all…this.”

Jack strutted over, dressed similarly in workout clothes. “Oh, but you look so sexy, like you’re about to go running…”

As Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist, Ianto tilted his head back to allow Jack better access to his neck. “We _are_ about to go running. Which, I still say we could do without these terrible outfits. Completely unflattering to my bum.”

Jack huffed a laugh into Ianto’s neck before pulling back and grinning wickedly. “Your bum always looks good to me.” Ianto jumped when Jack smacked his arse, then turned and glared menacingly at him. He had moved to the side, out of arm’s reach of Ianto, and was holding the stopwatch at the ready.

“Got the course down?”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “I designed the route, Jack.”

“On your mark, get set, go!” 

Ianto took off through the Hub, trainers slamming on the concrete beneath them. Up the stairs, through the workstations, up more stairs, through the hothouse, down the stairs, around the retention pool, and back to Jack. Ianto skidded to a halt, then bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath. “One seventeen!” Jack announced from above him. “You alright?”

Ianto waved an arm, head still between his knees. “Just…a moment…”

Ianto took a few more deep breaths before straightening. “Alright. Hand over the stopwatch.”

Making a big show a stretching beforehand, Jack bent himself into a sprinter's position, ready to race. “One…two…three…go!”

Taking off like a shot, Jack followed the same path Ianto did. As he rounded the home stretch, passing by the cog doors, the proximity alarms went off. Ignoring them, he plowed ahead…and straight into Gwen. Both tumbled into a heap in front of the door. Jack disentangled himself from Gwen and bolted upwards, running to Ianto and finishing the race. Only then did he turn around and run back over to Gwen.

“Are you alright?”

Gwen was standing, and staring in bafflement at the two men in sweatpants and trainers. “What’s going on in here?”

Jack turned swiftly, looking to Ianto for an explanation. Ianto’s eyes just widened and he hurried away. Turning back to Gwen, Jack just grinned. “Ah, we were just…”

Gwen waved her hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. Just, try not to involve me next time.”

With a grin and a lewd eyebrow raise, Jack left Gwen and found Ianto hiding in his office. “Well?”

“One twenty-eight. But, you ran into Gwen, so it’s not really accurate.”

Slowly, Jack stalked Ianto, until he had backed him up against a wall. Leaning forward, Jack mumbled into Ianto’s lips “It’s alright, I’m still willing to give you your reward.”

_ 7\. 2:10 _

Ianto shifted in Jack’s closet, shoving dress shirts and slacks out of his way so he could stand properly. Stilling, he heard Jack’s footsteps grow closer to his hiding place. He tried his best not to make a sound, even going as far as holding his breath. Unfortunately, it was all for naught, because a moment later the closet door flew open and Jack slapped Ianto’s arm. “Found you! Try beating four minutes, fifteen seconds!”

Ianto snatched the stopwatch from Jack’s fingers and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I plan on it.” Hurrying over to the cog door, Ianto closed his eyes and began counting loudly. “One, two, three…” He could hear the sounds of Jack scurrying around the Hub, but Ianto ignored them. He already knew where Jack was going to hide; he had given it away earlier that day when Ianto had suggested this variation on naked hide-and-seek.

“Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty. You better be hiding!” Ianto took his time, wandering around the Hub, acting like he was searching. Finally, two minutes in, he strode over to the interrogation room and flung the door open, shoving Jack against the table. “Found you.” 

Jack reached for the stopwatch. “Two minutes ten seconds? How’d you do that?”

Ianto smirked, running his hands along Jack’s chest. “When I suggested it, you glanced over toward the observation window.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Jack teased.

“Oh, we can’t have that. I guess you’ll have to punish me, sir.” 

_ 8\. 3:14 _

_ _ Ianto strode into Jack’s office, skimming through the files in his hands. “What is it, Jack? I have a lot to go over with this outbreak of…What the hell did you do?”

Jack stood on the higher rungs of his ladder, half in and half out of his bedroom. “Well, I figured I wanted to see how long it would take you to clean up my office. And if you could do it in under ten minutes, then you get a prize.”

Fuming, Ianto tossed the file down on Jack’s desk. “You messed up your office just so I could clean it up?” Hands on his hips, Ianto surveyed the damage. Papers tossed to the floor, greatcoat on the floor, drawers open with contents strewn about, a few shirts in a pile in the corner… “Get downstairs. I’ll be there in five to punish you.”

Jack raised his eyebrows happily at the command and descended down the ladder. Readying himself, Jack peeled off his clothes, tossing them over the back of a chair (no reason to irritate Ianto even more than he had). Lying himself down on the cot, Jack closed his eyes, stroking himself languidly.

Far soon than he expected he felt Ianto’s warm breath on his ear, and his voice murmured, “Starting without me, Jack?”

Hurriedly Jack reached for the stopwatch, only to find that Ianto was holding it and had already stopped it. “Three minutes, fourteen seconds.”

Jack blinked. “And it’s all clean?”

“You can punish me later if it’s not to your satisfaction. Now, however, _you_ need to be taught a lesson about cleanliness…”

_ 9\. 3:28 _

“Jack, this is embarrassing.” Ianto stood awkwardly in front of Jack, naked and shifting from foot to foot. “It’ll never work.”

Jack removed his braces and let them hang down from his pants. “Of course it’ll work. It’s happened to you before, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Ianto’s hands slipped on his hips, then down to his sides, then back on his hips. “Well I wasn’t under time constraints before. And the circumstances were different.”

Jack arched an eyebrow as he sat down on the bed. “I’m starting timing now.” He started the stopwatch. “And the circumstances weren’t different. You were thinking about me, right?”

Ianto shifted again, looking around the room, at the floor, the ceiling…anywhere but at Jack. “You weren’t _watching_ me.” He mumbled furiously.

“I’m always watching you.” Ianto’s eyes flicked up and met Jack’s for a moment before going back down to the floor. “I watch you when you work, making coffee. When you get all sweaty cleaning the coffee machine, sleeves rolled up, waistcoat unbuttoned…it’s all I can do to keep myself from taking you right there, up against the machine.”

Ianto shifted again. Jack sighed. “Ianto, come to the bed.”

“I thought the rule was no touching.”

Jack nodded, getting up from the bed and leaning in to Ianto, stopping when they were just centimeters apart. “It is. Now get on the bed and lie down.”

Ianto obeyed, lying down on the bed and awkwardly staring at the ceiling. Jack swung his legs over Ianto before he could protest, staring down at him hungrily. He cut off Ianto’s protest with a simple: “I’m not touching.” 

Ianto’s eyes widened as he stared up at Jack. “Jack…”

Jack smirked, glancing down between their bodies at Ianto’s growing arousal. “Not yet.” He let his eyes slowly make their way back up Ianto’s body until they were looking into each other’s eyes again. “You know what I’m going to do to you, once you’re ready?”

Ianto squirmed. Jack could read the conflict on his face: he didn’t want to break the rules, but he also was eager for Jack’s hands on him. Jack just leaned in closer, mouth next to Ianto’s ear. “First, I’m going to suck and lick a trail from your mouth, across your jaw, down your neck…” Jack sighed against Ianto’s ear, feeling him shudder at the feel of Jack’s warm breath on his ear, “to both nipples, taking extra time with them. Then down your chest, to your stomach, and your thighs, finally…” Jack paused for dramatic effect, smirking as he saw Ianto’s hands twitching against the bed sheets. “Finally, I’m going to take you in my mouth, bringing you to the edge before I fuck you into the mattress. You’re going to come _screaming_ my name.”

Ianto groaned, and Jack glanced down between them again. “I’d say that’s time, yeah?” asked Ianto through gritted teeth.

Jack smiled. “See, told you I could get you up without touching.”

“I think 51st century pheromones are almost cheating. What’s the time?” 

Jack chuckled and glanced down at the stopwatch. “Three twenty-eight. Damn, I thought I could do it in two.”

Ianto grabbed the stopwatch out of Jack’s hands and put it on the table behind them. “Too much talking…”

_ 10\. 4:52 _

Ianto and Jack stood in the Torchwood car park, arguing. “Jack, just let me drive. I know the faster route.”

“How can you know a faster route? How many routes can there be to your house? Ianto, you’ve driven with me before. No one drives faster.”

“Jack, just trust me, I know the faster route.”

“Then just tell me, and I’ll drive faster than you would.”

“Just give me the keys, and you’ll see it.”

Both men mirrored each other in stance and expression: hands on their hips, attempting to stare each other down. Not changing his expression or stance, Ianto nodded. “Stopwatch?”

“Stopwatch.” Jack agreed.

With that, Jack got into the Torchwood SUV and Ianto got into his car, pulling out the stopwatch and starting it as they both peeled out. Jack managed to pull out of the car park first, turning on the police lights on the SUV and weaving through traffic expertly. He glanced in his review once, to see Ianto’s car far behind him. Grinning to himself, Jack took a corner on two wheels, speeding up even more on a straightaway. 

Jack pulled the car into a space outside Ianto’s flat and jumped out, glancing around happily. Taking the stairs two at a time, he unlocked the door, burst into the apartment, and… “That’s four fifty-two for me, six nineteen for you.”

Jack gaped at Ianto, who stood calmly in his living room, stopwatch in hand. Jack turned around, looking at the door, then turned back to Ianto. “But, how did you…you were behind me!” Jack advanced on Ianto, jabbing a finger at him. 

Ever calm, Ianto shrugged. “Looks like you were behind me.” A quirk of Ianto’s lips at the innuendo in his own statement, and Jack burst out laughing.

“Fine, you win. What do you want for a reward?”

_ 11\. 4:57 _

Jack stared out the window of the SUV into the darkness of the park. He fidgeted in his seat as Ianto sat next to him, organizing everything he needed. “So I have five minutes?”

Ianto slapped a can of Weevil spray into Jack’s hand. “Five minutes. A second over and you owe me.” A smirk played across Ianto’s lips.

Jack smiled back and leaned forward. “Do I get a kiss for good luck?”

Ianto rolled his eyes and handed Jack a sedative and hood. “Just go. I start timing as soon as the door shuts.” 

Ignoring Ianto’s protests, Jack leaned in and pecked Ianto on the lips. Grinning madly, he hopped out of the car and slammed the door. Ianto started the stopwatch and stared out into the darkness outside the SUV. 

At first, the only noise coming over the comms was the sound of Jack’s panting breath as he raced in the direction of the Weevil. At one minute, forty-five seconds, the breathing turned into a shout of triumph, and the noises of a Weevil breathing were added to Jack’s over the comms. Shifting nervously in his seat, Ianto tried not to picture what was going on out there; not to try and conjure up images to match the sounds. Instead he focused on the stopwatch in his hand, the seconds’ hand drifting slowly around the face.

At four minutes, forty-five seconds, Ianto was cocking his gun and getting ready to jump out of the SUV and help Jack. Five seconds later, the comms went abruptly silent. Sucking in a breath, Ianto put his hand on the door handle, willing the last few seconds to run out. “Done!” A triumphant laugh followed the exclamation over the comms, and Ianto depressed the button on the stopwatch, staring down at the time in shock. “Well, how’d I do? Did I make it? Oh, and come help me drag this guy into the boot.”

Ianto hopped out of the car and ran over the direction Jack had gone off in, finding him a few seconds later. His coat was ripped (damn it), and he had obtained a few gashes on his arms and chest, but he didn’t appear about to die, much to Ianto’s relief. “You alright?” Ianto asked, out of breath.

Jack nodded at the stopwatch. “Well? Did I make it?”

“Oh, yeah. Four fifty-seven, just in time. Do you me to fix you up?” Ianto was too busy worrying over Jack’s cuts and bruises to see the overly triumphant grin that spread across his face. “You’re losing a lot of blood from this one, why don’t I…”

The next thing Ianto knew, he was being dragged into a fierce kiss, Jack’s tongue probing his mouth and hands gripping his head. Ianto relaxed into it briefly, then pulled back. “Damn it, Jack. You’re bleeding all over me. Let me just give you some medical attention and…”

“Why don’t we drag this Weevil back to the SUV and you can give me all the ‘attention’ you want?” Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack’s wicked grin. Jack looked offended at the eye-roll. “What? I won the bet! I _never_ win the bet, I deserve my reward.”

Ianto sighed and bent done to grab the Weevil’s ankles. Jack grabbed its shoulders, and they were off, the body swinging between them. “Alright, Jack. But only if that gash on your chest has healed. Otherwise, we wait until we’re back at the Hub.”

_ 12\. 5:15 _

Both men lay, sated and sweaty, on Jack’s bed. Ianto had his head on Jack’s chest, one leg hanging off the cot. Jack had an arm wrapped around Ianto, and was currently tracing little circles onto Ianto’s hip with it. “Jack, I thought of something else to do with the stopwatch.” 

Jack smirked at the ceiling. “So soon? Not going to give me time to recover? I _am_ several centuries older than you, you know.”

But Ianto was already moving, stretching back to snatch the stopwatch from the table behind them. “Exactly. I want to see how fast you can recover.”

Jack propped himself up on his elbows and raised an eyebrow at the young Welshman, who was holding the stopwatch and looking eagerly at Jack. “After _that_?”

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you’re not feeling up to it, I understand. It’s just that I already started timing, and I thought you might enjoy-mmph!”

Jack had shoved his lips against Ianto, drawing him into a deep kiss. For a few moments Jack lazily stroked his tongue over Ianto’s, enjoying the suction of Ianto’s mouth against his. Too soon Ianto shoved him away, pushing him to lie down. “We _are_ under time constraints, you know.” 

Jack rolled his eyes. “Ones you’ve made up!”

Ianto paused, looking up from his position between Jack’s legs. “Jack. Do you want me to argue with you, or take your cock in my mouth?”

Jack’s eyes widened. Ianto didn’t do dirty talk very often. “The…your mouth. Please,” he managed to stammer out.

With an all too self-satisfied smirk, Ianto bent down and licked a line down Jack’s still-flaccid cock. Jack groaned: so soon after, his cock was still over-sensitive, and each movement of Ianto’s tongue felt magnified ten-fold. Ianto’s tongue licked lines up and down the shaft, before Ianto moved his head further down and took Jack’s balls in his mouth. Jack groaned, arching up. Ianto’s tongue rolled over them, while his mouth applied the most exquisite suction. 

Fumbling, Jack reached a hand down and tangled his fingers in Ianto’s hair, trying not to pull too hard. Ianto removed his mouth from Jack’s balls and stared down, considering. A moment later his mouth engulfed Jack’s cock, warm heat forcing Jack to thrust his hips up against his will. Ianto’s fingers probed at Jack’s hole, and he arched up, trying to get in the best position he could for Ianto. One finger slipped in, then two. Ianto’s mouth was still sliding up and down Jack’s shaft, sucking and licking enthusiastically.

As Ianto’s fingers found his prostate, Jack groaned, tossing his head to the side. He could feel his arousal growing, cock becoming harder in the wet heat of Ianto’s mouth. A moment later the heat and fingers were gone, as Ianto looked down to survey his handiwork. He clicked the stopwatch and arched an eyebrow at the time. “Five fifteen. I thought it would be quicker.”

Ianto reached up, past Jack, to place the stopwatch back down on the table. He then settled in next to Jack, closing his eyes. Astounded, Jack just managed to stare at Ianto for a few seconds before he found his voice. “Wait, what? You can’t fall asleep!”

Ianto kept his eyes closed and batted at Jack. “Yes I can. I wanted to see how long it took for you to recover; I didn’t say anything about getting you off.”

Ianto let out a gasp as Jack jumped on him, laughing in between kisses.

_ 13\. 12:17 _

Clothes flew off as the stopwatch ticked on the tourist office’s desk. “How long do we have?” Jack murmured into the skin on Ianto’s neck.

“Fif-ah…fifteen minutes. Give or take.” Jack gripped Ianto’s arse and hauled him up, onto his hips. A gasp escaped Ianto’s lips as Jack shoved him up against the wall, arousals sliding against each other. “Enough time, just…hurry up…”

Strong legs wrapped around Jack’s back as he removed one hand from Ianto to grab at the lube. He slid two fingers inside Ianto, grinning at the pleasure-filled expression on Ianto’s face. “Oh, Jack. Just…” Unable to form a sentence, Ianto banged his head back on the wall, closing his eyes and swallowing convulsively. As he slipped a third finger in Jack leaned forward and nipped at Ianto’s Adam’s apple. 

“Good?” he murmured.

He felt Ianto nod above him. “Yeah Jack. Just hurry. Don’t want a repeat…not…exhibitionist…” Ianto grunted out the last three words as Jack’s fingers stroked his prostate before pulling out. Awkwardly he let Ianto slick up his cock, panting at the feel of Ianto’s lube-coated fingers sliding over him. 

“Alright, here…” Jack lifted Ianto further, getting his cock into position beneath Ianto. Leaning forward, Ianto kissed him as he thrust in, mouths opening and breathing into each other. 

Jack thrust hard into Ianto, who bore down on him, ankles locked behind his back, arms gripping Jack’s arms. Jack reached a hand between them to jerk off Ianto, and he came with a shudder, banging his head against the wall again. Jack followed soon after, pressing hard against Ianto to keep his knees under him. A moment of harsh breathing, and Ianto was unhooking his legs, getting them back under himself. Jack pulled out carefully and kissed Ianto again, less hurried and desperate now. 

“What’s the time?” Ianto grabbed at the stopwatch and glanced at it. “Twelve seventeen.”

Jack smiled and kissed Ianto. “Good timing. Now put on some clothes. Bring the pizza downstairs when it comes.”  
  
  



	2. Holding Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uses 14-26 for a stopwatch. All somehow "holding out" related.

 

  


_ 14\. :40 _

“As someone with a vested interest in your continued bodily health, I’m going to have to put a stop to this.” Jack made to grab the stopwatch out of Ianto’s hand, but Ianto was too quick. He held his hand out behind him, turning to smile lewdly at Jack.

“Owen would never off me; he needs the coffee. Besides, he’s already at thirty seconds without a refill, it shouldn’t be much longer.” Ianto traced a hand down one of Jack’s suspenders. It was enough to make Jack forget why he was reprimanding Ianto. “Now, if you want to examine my body, you know, to look after your interests…”

“Ianto! Could I get some coffee? Bloody hell, who’s a guy got to shag? Actually, on second thought, don’t answer that.”

With a smirk, Ianto depressed the button on the stopwatch and pulled away from Jack’s roaming hands. “Forty seconds.” Ianto tugged on his suit jacket and walked quickly over to Owen. “Sorry about that.” As Ianto carried the coffee mug over to the machine to get a refill, he grinned at a frustrated Jack who was glaring across the room at him. “Would you like a refill too, sir?” There, now Jack was smiling again.

_ 15\. :43 _

“I think you blinked.”

“I did not Jack, now stop distracting me.”

“Are you sure you didn’t blink?”

“Jack, I swear, if you-”

“Blinked! You blinked! Forty-three seconds”

Ianto rubbed his eyes and stepped away from Janet’s cell, grumbling. “I knew what you were doing.”

Jack shrugged and took Ianto’s place in front of the cell. “You still blinked. Alright, ready?”

Ianto nodded, stopwatch in hand. “Go.” 

Jack opened his eyes and stared at Janet, refusing to blink. “Ten seconds. You know Jack, I don’t think we’ve ever had sex down here before. You could shove me up against the glass, or on one of the concrete benches in the cells. We could even play prisoner and prison guard…”

Jack shifted, trying to will away his burgeoning erection, while at the same time trying his best not to blink. He felt Ianto’s breath on the back of his neck. “You know, I have the handcuffs on me.” 

Jack growled and spun around, pushing Ianto backwards until he was pressed up against the door to the cell behind them. “What was my time?” 

Ianto smirked, looking at the stopwatch. “Thirty-two seconds. Looks like I win.”

Jack put his hands on the cell door, on either side of Ianto’s head. “Well, what do you want as your prize?”

_ 16\. 1:00 _

Ianto shivered a little as he sat on the autopsy table. Metal in a cold, damp sewer in Cardiff wasn’t exactly warm on the bum. Jack strolled in, clipboard, stopwatch, and pen in hand, greatcoat replaced by a Doctor’s jacket, stethoscope around his neck. Ianto shivered for an entirely different reason.

“What seems to be the problem Mr….” a pause as Jack looked down at the clipboard in his hand, “Jones.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Ianto’s lips. “Please, call me Ianto. And I’m just here for a check-up.”

Jack nodded, setting the clipboard down. “Alright, then. Let me just start by taking your pulse…” 

The sight of the stopwatch sent a jolt down Ianto’s spine, and he felt his cock twitching. Jack took his wrist in hand and found his pulse. The feel of Jack’s fingers ghosting over his wrist did nothing to quell Ianto’s burgeoning erection. “One hundred and ten. That’s awfully high, are you feeling…” Jack’s tongue darted out from between his lips, “excited, in any way?”

Ianto’s mouth went dry as he shook his head. “No, doctor. I can’t imagine what could be the problem.” 

Jack’s lips twitched as he went through the next procedures: blood pressure, heartbeat, lungs. Just when Ianto was growing desperate enough to drag Jack onto the table with him, Jack stepped back. “Only two things left to check. Stand up, please.”

Ianto’s heart thudded in his chest as he stood. Jack pulled on surgical gloves as Ianto watched, precome starting to slide down his erection. Jack leaned in and gripped Ianto’s balls in the hand with the glove. “Cough,” he murmured, face centimeters from Ianto’s. Weakly, Ianto coughed. Jack grinned up at Ianto, squeezing his balls lightly before he let go. Ianto gasped.

“Now for the last thing,” Jack snapped the glove against his wrist for dramatic effect, “turn around and bend over.”

_ 17\. 2:30 _

“Don’t move…” Jack breathed. Ianto was on his hands and knees on Jack’s cot, trying his best to stay still. Between the cheeks of his arse stood the stopwatch, ticking away. Jack smirked at the sight laid out in front of him. “For every minute you keep it there, you get a night of whatever you want. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Reaching down, Jack took Ianto’s arousal in hand and began stroking it. Ianto’s arms began shaking with the effort of not thrusting or clenching, and within a minute sweat was dripping down his face, falling and making small spots on the bed sheets. Jack grinned. Adding his left hand, Jack cupped Ianto’s balls and rolled them between his fingers. Ianto groaned, hips twitching slightly. The stopwatch shifted and Ianto’s entire body tensed.

“Careful.”

Ianto’s fingers were clenching and unclenching on the sheets. “Jack…”

Jack thumbed the head of Ianto’s cock, spreading precome down the shaft. Ianto twitched and clenched at the movement, and the stopwatch slipped from between his cheeks. 

Picking it up off the sheets, Jack stopped his ministrations. “Two minutes thirty. Looks like you only get two nights when you get to do whatever you want.”

Ianto rolled over and sat up, grinning lasciviously. Jack’s eyes immediately flicked down to Ianto’s still-erect cock, before looking back up and meeting Ianto’s eyes. “Can I use one tonight?”

_ 18\. 4:19 _

Ianto’s mouth engulfed Jack’s cock as his right hand gripped the base firmly. Above him, Jack groaned lewdly, hand tangled in Ianto’s hair. Ianto hollowed his cheeks, sucking on Jack as he slid his mouth down and back. He pulled back until just the tip was in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip, pressing it into the slit there and tasting precome.

“Damn it, Ianto! Is that even…ah…fair?”

Ianto slid his mouth back down the shaft, tonguing the vein on the underside as he did. Another frustrated groan from Jack spurred Ianto forward. Rapidly he began moving his head up and down, making sure to apply tortuously even suction as he did so. He felt Jack’s hips twitch beneath him, followed by a tentative thrust.

Immediately Ianto pulled back, letting Jack’s arousal slide from his mouth. “That’s time.”

Jack practically threw the stopwatch at Ianto, reaching down to touch himself. “Oh no you don’t,” Ianto grabbed Jack’s wrist and stopped him. “You didn’t make it five minutes.” Ianto turned the stopwatch around to show Jack. “Four nineteen. That means _I_ win.”

With a feral growl Jack jumped on Ianto, eager to be his prize. 

_ 19\. 5:08 _

Ianto would never tell Jack, but sometimes he secretly timed him. Ianto even had a favorite action of Jack to time: how long Jack could go without touching him in the Hub. Ianto only timed this when he wasn’t spending the whole day in the archives: even if Jack wanted to touch him those days, he would never be able to find him. No, Ianto timed those days when he was in Jack’s office, getting everyone coffee, sorting the dry-cleaning, &c. 

Jack’s record time for unknowingly keeping his hands off Ianto was thirty-eight minutes. Ianto let Jack kiss him on the cheek as he stepped out to make a new batch of coffee. Surreptitiously, Ianto pressed the stopwatch in his pocket. He didn’t think today would be a record-breaking day.

Sure enough, when Ianto returned to Jack’s office with coffee, Jack reached out and brushed his fingertips as he accepted the cup, glancing at it before smiling up at Ianto. Ianto smiled back as he slipped his hand in his pocket to stop timing. 

Once outside the office, Ianto pulled the watch out of his pocket and checked it. Five minutes, eight seconds. Definitely not a record-breaking day.

_ 2o. 5:20 _

Ianto sat in the interrogation room, naked, handcuffs around his wrists. He kept himself from looking up at the observation window with some difficulty. Slowly, sensually, he reached down and stroked his cock with bound hands. Leaning his head back for effect, Ianto let his eyes flutter closed as he stroked. 

The stopwatch on the table in front of him ticked, tracking the time as he sat there and stroked himself for the man he knew was watching him. Groaning, Ianto rubbed the cold metal of the handcuffs against his arousal, the contrast sending a shudder up his spine. Standing, Ianto awkwardly maneuvered himself onto the table, then laid himself down across it: arousal jutting up from him, tip leaking precome. He resumed his stroking, letting his neck fall to the left, making sure Jack had a good view of the soft, pale skin there.

“Mm…Jack…I can’t reach behind me this way…I need your help…”

The door swung up and Ianto snapped his head around, grinning. “Stop it.” He murmured, nodding at the stopwatch. 

Jack strode forward and stopped it, glancing down. “Five twenty.” With no more preamble, Jack climbed up onto the interrogation table, pressing down onto Ianto.

“Aren’t you going to remove the cuffs?” 

_ 21\. 6:23 _

“Okay, so explain to me what we’re timing again?”

Jack was leaning back in his chair, staring up at Ianto who was sitting comfortably on his desk. Ianto leaned over, glancing out the doorway at the team. Lowering his voice, Ianto turned back to Jack. “We wait until Tosh glances over at Owen. Then we time how long until she glances at him again.”

Jack nodded, appearing to very seriously contemplate the matter. “How long do you think this’ll take?”

Ianto frowned, raising his eyebrows. “It depends. If she’s working on a difficult project, she might not look at him for hours. But if she’s not really doing anything all that interesting, it could be under a minute.”

Steepling his fingers, Jack considered for a moment. “Is she working on anything important?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Jack hopped up from his chair. “Well then why are we waiting here?”

Both men walked over to the doorway and glanced out at Tosh. While Jack watched her carefully, Ianto picked up some files. He handed one to Jack, who raised an eyebrow at them. “Well, we can’t just stand here.” 

They didn’t have to wait long. Tosh glanced over at Owen, who was sitting in the workstation next to her, apparently not doing much. The stopwatch clicked on in Ianto’s hand, and both men exchanged a smile. They took turns staring at her, looking down at the files in their hands when they weren’t, so as not to arouse suspicion. As Jack stared down at his file and Ianto watched Tosh closely, Jack tried to keep himself entertained. “Hey Ianto, what do you want to do tonight?”

He saw Ianto shrug out of the corner of his eye. “Dunno. Wasn’t planning on doing anything. Beside, well, the usual. Switch.”

Jack grinned, thinking about “the usual”. “Well, do you want to do something? We could get a nice dinner in town.”

“In town? I don’t know, Jack. When I say ‘I can never take you anywhere’, I’m only half-joking. Your propensity for public displays of affection is unprecedented.”

Jack gazed at Tosh, intent on the screens in front of her. “What if I promise to be good?”

“Only if you offered collateral.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “Well, you could always-” Jack cut himself off; Tosh’s head had flickered over in Owen’s direction again. “That’s time.”

Ianto nodded at the stopwatch, raising his eyebrows. “Six minutes, twenty-three seconds. That’s actually longer than I thought.” As he looked up his eyes caught Jack’s, and he smiled softly at the eagerness there. “Where did you have in mind?” 

_ 22\. 7:20 _

“Seven minutes.”

“No, she’s better than that. I’ll go with fifteen.”

Ianto nodded at Jack. “Deal.”

As Ianto gave the most boring lecture humanly possible on the exact organization of the archives, Jack sat across the table from Gwen. In his hand he held the stopwatch, and he watched Gwen’s face carefully, looking for tell-tale signs of sleep.

Ianto was, apparently, all too good at being boring, because seven minutes twenty seconds in Gwen’s head dropped to her chest suddenly, before she jerked herself awake. Ianto and Jack shared a look, confirming the action as the end of time. Jack slipped the stopwatch in his vest pocket and spent the rest of the meeting contemplated exactly how he could reward Ianto. 

_ 23\. 8:18 _

Ianto stilled his face, trying his best not to grin as he bent over the coffee table, straightening out papers. He was extremely aware of his position relative to the CCTV cameras, and made sure to stay bent over longer than strictly necessary. Wouldn’t want Jack to miss out on the nudity.

Ianto couldn’t even be positive Jack was watching. The others had all left, and Ianto had made an excuse about straightening things out before he and Jack could enjoy dinner. Without another word to Jack, he had stripped and started the stopwatch as he went about straightening up the Hub. He secretly bet himself that Jack would notice and be down here in two minutes or less – Jack had a tendency to spy on Ianto as he worked.

As Ianto moved on from the coffee table to Tosh’s workstation, and from there to Owen’s, he allowed himself a small frown. This was taking longer than he thought it would. He didn’t dare check the stopwatch, not wanting to give up his game. He shrugged to himself and continued cleaning; Jack could be actually working for once, Ianto couldn’t exactly complain about that. 

Moving on to the autopsy bay, Ianto continued straightening up. By now he was sick of trying to look sexy for the CCTV, and was growing increasingly frustrated. What could Jack be _doing_? 

The sound of footsteps reached his ears, and Ianto grinned. _Finally_. He kept his back to the Hub, bending over lewdly to pick up some medical tools that had fallen to the ground. An arm encircled his waist as he straightened, and Ianto leaned back into Jack’s embrace. Reaching for the stopwatch that he had placed on the autopsy bed, Ianto depressed the button and glanced at it. 

“It took you eight minutes and eighteen seconds to notice me?” Ianto felt Jack shift suspiciously against him. He turned around and stared, taking note of Jack’s guilty, and somewhat flushed, face. “You, you didn’t!”

Jack just grinned guiltily. “What was I supposed to do? You were bending over, waggling your perfect bum at the camera…I couldn’t help myself.”

Ianto stormed off, exasperated. “You were _supposed_ to come down here and ravage me! I was ten meters away, you didn’t have to…” 

A hand grabbed for Ianto’s elbow and spun him around, pulling him in tight to Jack. “Well, now I am down here to ravage you…” 

_ 24\. 12:24 _

Jack was better at waiting between coffee refills than Owen. For one, he had a vested interest in keeping Ianto happy, and shouting at him every thirty seconds for coffee refills (or, what was it last time with Owen, forty seconds?) wasn’t exactly the way into Ianto’s good graces. Second, Jack didn’t pay attention to his coffee that much. When he had it, he was grateful, and Ianto made the best cup he had ever drank. But Jack had a bad tendency to ignore bodily needs like drink and caffeine – one of the many reasons he needed Ianto around – and so wouldn’t realize his coffee was empty for a while.

Today though, Jack noticed. He noticed because he was horny and bored, and was just waiting for Ianto to refill his coffee so that he could seduce him into a quick hand job in the interrogation room. His cup had been empty for…well, he wasn’t sure exactly how long, but he was _sure_ this was longer than he normally went between coffee. Weighing his options, Jack considered shouting for Ianto. Then again, he might be deep in the archives, working on some sort of important…filing…or something. 

Jack rocked himself out of his chair, strolling over to the office doorway. Shocked, he spotted Ianto. Not in the archives, not even busy, except…refilling Owen’s coffee? And not his?

“Ianto!” Ianto’s head snapped up, a smile quirking at his lips. 

“Jack. Do you want something?”

Jack crossed his arms and stared at Ianto as menacingly as he could manage. Of course, that never really worked on Ianto, who just arched an eyebrow back. “Would you like some coffee?”

Jack was about to storm back into his office when he noticed Ianto reaching into his pocket. Aghast, he saw Ianto pull out the stopwatch and click it, before glancing back up at Jack. His mouth refused to close, and Ianto just nodded, mock-impressed. “Twelve minutes, twenty-four seconds. Impressive, sir.”

Grumbling, Jack stormed back into his office. Ianto was going to pay for that later. 

_ 25\. 27:49 _

Ianto gasped as Jack’s fingers entered him. He arched into the touch, hands scrambling at the sheets beneath them. “Come on, Jack. Hurry up.”

Jack’s lips kissed the inside of Ianto’s thigh, and he groaned, frustrated. “No need to rush things. We have all night…In fact…” Jack removed his fingers and rocked back, severing all contact. Ianto groaned and reached forward, but Jack pulled back. “Get the stopwatch.”

Ianto quirked an eyebrow and reached down on the floor for his pants, rummaging through his pockets until he found it. Handing it over to Jack, he leaned back on his elbows expectantly. “What are you going to do with it?” he breathed.

Jack smirked as he leaned in to Ianto, stopwatch not started yet. “How long do you think you could last?”

Ianto groaned, letting his head fall back to the pillow. “No, Jack. No foreplay timing, that one took too long.”

Jack shook his head and leaned over Ianto, dropping small kisses onto Ianto’s lips. “Not foreplay, sex. How long do you think you could last with me inside you, thrusting, hitting that sweet spot…”

Ianto groaned and thrust his hips up, seeking out friction. Jack smiled and lifted himself up, denying Ianto. “Not long. Ten minutes.”

“I bet I can make you last thirty.”

Ianto’s head snapped up, eyes dilated with lust. “No tricks? No pulling out or staying still or anything?”

Secure in the knowledge that he had won, Jack shook his head and kissed Ianto soundly. In one movement he thrust into Ianto, and started the stopwatch.

Ianto groaned, clutching at the sheets before bringing his hands up to scramble at Jack’s back.

“You won’t last thirty seconds like that. Shh. Calm down.”

Ianto grunted with Jack’s thrusts. “Hard to…calm down…with your…cock up my arse.”

Jack snorted. Leaning back, he continued his slow, lazy thrusts in Ianto, tracing a hand down his chest. “Just breathe. Here, breathe with me.” Jack slowed his breathing and took deep, evenly spaced breaths. “Better?”

Ianto nodded, staring intently at Jack’s chest as he tried to copy his breathing. Every once in a while his breath would hitch, but he managed to remain relatively in sync with Jack. Smiling down at him, Jack nodded. “Good.” Jack continued his slow, steady pace, bringing Ianto’s focus back to breathing anytime he felt his thrusts grow erratic.

Convinced Ianto could handle it, Jack slipped his hand down to stroke his cock. The extra pleasure took Ianto by surprise and he gasped, screwing his eyes shut. Jack stilled his hand but not his hips, as he gave time for Ianto’s breathing to return back to a steady pace. “You alright?” A nod. “I’m going to start moving my hand again. Don’t focus on it, just focus on breathing.”

Ianto nodded again, eyes still screwed shut. Jack started moving his hand in long, careful strokes, timed in sync with his thrusts. Ianto’s breath was shaky, and his hips did little stutter thrusts into Jack’s hand before he regained control. When he did Jack smiled. “Good.”

As they continued, Jack knew Ianto was coming undone, slowly but surely. As much as he was trying, his breath began coming in shorter and shorter intervals, and his hips twitched between thrusts, obviously eager to thrust ferociously against Jack. Smiling, Jack leaned down and kissed Ianto’s slightly parted lips. Gasping and shuddering, Ianto came suddenly in Jack’s hands. Jack laughed, hitting the stopwatch. It was only then that he allowed himself to thrust into Ianto with abandon, reaching his climax moments later.

Ianto groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “Damn it, Jack. Didn’t expect…sorry.” Jack grinned and kissed Ianto again.

“Hey, look at the time.” Jack handed the stopwatch over to Ianto, who peered through his fingers to look at it. “Looks like I win.”

“Twenty-seven forty-nine.” Ianto groaned and rolled to his side. “Well, your reward will have to wait. I refuse to do anything until morning.”

_ 26\. 43:15 _

“I don’t think I like this.”

Ianto lifted his head from Jack’s neck and frowned. “But you like the stopwatch.”

Hauling himself up onto his elbows, Jack glared at the offending item. “When we’re racing during sex. Not drawing out foreplay.”

“You can stop it anytime. I just wanted to see how long you could go.”

Jack reached out a hand to grip Ianto’s bicep and grinned lewdly. “What if I want to stop it now?”

Ianto shrugged. “You can. But then I won’t stick around afterwards.”

Blue eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“For every minute of foreplay you last, I’ll stay a minute in bed with you after.”

Damn it. Trust Ianto to realize how much he enjoyed their post-coital cuddles. Jack looked around the room, frustrated, until his eyes returned to Ianto’s. “Alright, fine. But no stopping or cheating! You have to be _doing_ something.”

Ianto replied by leaning in and kissing Jack as he started the stopwatch.

The next minutes were a blur of tortuously slow lips and tongues and teeth and hands for Jack. Ianto’s tongue must have traced over every part of him…outside _and_ in. Small bruises and love-bites speckled every centimeter of Jack’s flesh, and he had dissolved into a sweaty, panting mess too quickly. “Ianto…”

Ianto was busy sucking and nipping on the inside of Jack’s thigh when he looked up. “Hm?”

“Ianto please…”

“I’m not stopping, Jack. _You_ have the power to end this whenever you want…”

That was it. Jack couldn’t hold out any longer. He lunged at Ianto, shoving him backwards on the small cot. Ianto grinned beneath him, struggling to grab at the stopwatch before Jack thrust inside him.

Panting and exhausted afterwards, Ianto reached for the discarded timepiece. “You have me for forty-three minutes, fifteen seconds.”

Jack pulled Ianto close to his chest. “It’s never enough.”  
  
  
  



	3. Timing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uses 27-42 for a stopwatch. All somehow "timing" related.

  


_ 27\. :00 _

Jack sat in his office chair, leaning back as an angry Welshman stood before him, hands on his hips, berating him. “You can’t just toss this sort of paperwork at me. You need to actually fill it out yourself. I’m doing fieldwork now, Jack. I don’t have time to re-write every report you fill out.”

Frowning, Jack held out his hand. “Hey, can I see your stopwatch for a second, Ianto?”

Hanging his head down for a moment, Ianto looked back up, composure retained. “What exactly do you need it for, Jack? We’re having a serious conversation.”

Ignoring him, Jack slipped his hand into Ianto’s pocket and retrieved the stopwatch. Pressing the button, he leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Sorry, keep going.”

For a moment, Ianto stood there, mouth agape. “What are you timing?”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up, as though surprised. “Oh, this?” Ianto nodded, incredulous. “Just wanted to see how long the Welsh could complain. I bet with a little training we could call Guinness up…” 

Rather than storm out, Ianto stormed over to the ladder, descending to Jack’s bedroom. Curious, Jack jumped out of his chair, peering down at Ianto’s retreating head. “What are you doing?”

“Getting the paddle. You need to be punished for that comment.”

Grin and eyes wide, Jack tucked the stopwatch into his pocket and raced down the ladder after him.

_ 28\. 1:15 _

Ianto didn’t know why he never thought of timing it before. As Jack fell to the floor, a laser burn through his shirt, Ianto pressed his stopwatch. Two dozen bullets immediately filled the alien’s body and it fell to the floor with a wet thud. Threat eliminated, Ianto raced over to Jack, dropping to the floor with him. “Ianto, hold it, there might be more of them!”

“Then take care of them!” Ianto stared daggers at the other team members as he pulled Jack’s head in his lap.

Owen and Tosh shared a look, but took off running further into the warehouse. Gwen hesitated. “Ianto, he’s going to come back…”

“Gwen, go and deal with the alien. I’m dealing with Jack.” Ianto’s voice was steely and eyes cold. A moment longer and Gwen took off, racing after Owen and Tosh.

A shaking sigh bubbled up from Ianto’s chest. It was never easy, watching Jack fall. And he knew how much it hurt, coming back; he knew how terrifying it was to wake up alone and confused. So he promised himself he’d be there for Jack every time he woke, if he could. He hadn’t told Jack – who would probably tell him to not be ridiculous – but it was obvious that Jack appreciated coming back in Ianto’s arms.

Beneath him, Jack started forward, gasping shakily. Ianto stopped the stopwatch: one minutes, fifteen seconds. “Shh. I’ve got you. Shh.” Ianto pressed his cheek down to Jack’s head and closed his eyes, rocking Jack slightly. 

Jack’s arms reached up and grabbed onto Ianto, reassuring himself, before he spoke. “Where are the others? What happened?”

Jack was back in Captain mode, which was Ianto’s cue to release him and help him up. “The alien is dead, they’re off securing the perimeter.”

Jack didn’t miss the movement of Ianto’s hand in his pocket. “Were you timing me?”

A blush spread across his face. “Thought never occurred to me. Figured it might come in handy, one day.”

Jack reached out and grabbed Ianto’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “Let’s hope not.” 

_ 29\. 2:25 _

Ianto stared out of Jack’s office window, stopwatch ticking in his hand. “Ianto, where are those files on that weird-looking purple thing with the tentacles…oh. Stopwatch?”

Ianto shook his head. “Not now. Tosh left her purse at her workstation, I’m waiting to see how long before she realizes it’s gone missing. And the file on the Larnyans is on your desk, left hand side, beneath the pastry.”

A moment later Jack had returned, munching on a cream-filled donut and files in hand. “How long’s it been?”

“Two minutes, fifteen seconds.” 

“Did she drive to work today?”

“Yup.”

Jack laughed, picturing Tosh in the car park, not realizing she had left her purse until she was standing in front of her car. Sure enough, a few seconds later the cog door rolled back, Tosh stepping through and muttering to herself. Jack chuckled as Ianto clicked the stopwatch, showing it to Jack. “Two twenty-five. Quicker than it would have taken you.”

Jack shrugged and turned away, heading for his cot. “That’s why I have you remember everything for me. Coming?”

Glancing backwards, Ianto realized where Jack was heading, and quickly followed after. 

_ 30\. 3:15 _

The two men waited patiently, hidden behind the coffee machine. Their attention was focused on a bar of chocolate, dark, which was sitting in the middle of the Hub. Ianto’s stopwatch was ticking in his hand as they waited. 

Jack shifted. “What’s the time?” He whispered.

Ianto glanced down at the stopwatch. “Two twenty.” 

Eyes tracing down Ianto’s back, Jack pressed himself closer. “You know, while we’re waiting…”

“Shh. I hear her.”

Sure enough, the sound of flapping wings filled the room, as Mwyfawny swooped down to perch on the railing. Jack and Ianto shifted forward, waiting for her to accept the bait. Mwyfawny squawked, staring at the bar of chocolate. Poking at it with her beak for a moment, she apparently decided it was good to eat, because she scooped it up and flew off, bringing the chocolate back to her nest. 

Jack leaned over to look at the time on the stopwatch. “Three fifteen. Which one of us was closer?”

Ianto thought for a moment. “It’s a tie.”Ianto and Jack blinked at each other, considering. 

“That’s never happened before.”

Ianto glanced back down at the stopwatch. “I know.”

Standing, Jack grabbed Ianto’s elbow and dragged him up. “Well, we’ll just have to reward both of us…”

_ 31\. 4:34 _

Jack woke up alone in Ianto’s bed. He stretched out, frowning at the rapidly-cooling spot next to him. So much for a morning shag. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Jack padded into the kitchen, seeking out Ianto. Sure enough he was in there, his back to Jack. As Jack drew closer he could see Ianto was getting the coffee machine and beans ready to brew. “Morning.” Jack mumbled, wrapping an arm around Ianto’s waist and kissing him on the cheek. 

Ianto leaned back into the embrace and turned enough to kiss Jack back properly. “Morning. Coffee?” 

Jack removed himself from Ianto and smiled. “Of course.” Spotting the stopwatch on the counter, Jack clicked it on when Ianto closed up the machine and turned it on. 

            Turning, Ianto’s eyes drifted down to the stopwatch. “It’ll take four minutes thirty seconds, give or take.”

            “How do you know that?”

            “I know everything. Also, coffee takes a very specific time to brew. This grind takes about four minutes, thirty seconds.” 

            Jack raised an eyebrow. “Are you willing to bet on it?”

            Ianto grinned. “Are you? You have a tendency to lose bets to me on a regular basis.”

            Mock-affronted, Jack gasped. “Well, that sounds like a challenge. Four minutes, thirty seconds, with a five second window.”

            Ianto just smirked, turning back to the kitchen to start making breakfast for the two of them.

            Four minutes, thirty-four seconds later, and the coffee was done. If Jack didn’t have a warm mug of Ianto’s coffee in his hand, he might have been upset about the whole thing.

_ 32\. 6:18 _

Jack and Ianto stood on opposite sides of the autopsy bay, poses mirroring each other: forearms over the edge of the railing, hands clasped, and leaning forward. The stopwatch stayed hidden, clasped in Ianto’s hands. Beneath them, Owen was starting an autopsy on a particularly mangled body. “Well, with a body this mangled, I have no guarantees if I’ll be able to determine cause of death.”

Jack nodded solemnly. “Just try your best.”

Owen expertly made a Y incision in the chest, then grabbed chisel and hammer, cracking the ribs open. Next came the clamps to hold the chest open. Owen began poking around, leaning in close. “Well isn’t this just a bit of terrific. Jack, the organs are all…huh.”

Ianto and Jack exchanged a quick glance. “What is it, Owen?” Jack feigned interest and leaned further over the railing.

“The organs. I guess whatever killed it must have…dunno…moved them around a bit. I mean, the stomach is over here, like some sort of…”

Owen abruptly pulled his hands out of the corpse and stepped back. “This is a pig, isn’t it?”

Jack burst out laughing, while Ianto expressed his amusement more quietly. “Six minutes eighteen seconds.”

“You were timing me? Bloody hell you guys, you know, some of us have to get some real work done.” Owen stormed off, throwing surgical gloves on the floor of the autopsy bay before he left. 

“I’ll just clean up this body then!” Ianto shouted after Owen, earning another peal of laughter from Jack. 

“Owen’s going to kill you, one day.”

“I already told you, Jack: Owen needs his coffee. He’s more likely to kill you.” Ianto paused in his descent down the stairs. “Again.”

_ 33\. 8:30 _

After Ianto had refused shower sex, shoving Jack out and locking the bathroom door behind him, Jack was bored. He wasn’t about to cook breakfast, or make coffee, and now he couldn’t shower or shag. What was he supposed to do for the next…well, however long it takes Ianto to shower.

Ah, well, that’s what he could do. Jack hurried over to Ianto’s nightstand and retrieved the stopwatch. Pressing his ear to the door, Jack started the stopwatch when he heard the water change, indicating that Ianto had just stepped under its spray. 

Eight minutes and thirty seconds later, an incredulous Jack stopped the watch. Reaching up, he retrieved the piece of metal for unlocking doors in an emergency and stepped inside.

He was greeted by a sopping wet, furious, naked Ianto. “Jack, damn it, I said no! Once in the morning is enough!”

“What could you be doing in there that takes eight and a half minutes?”

Ianto’s eyes dropped to the stopwatch in Jack’s hand and he quickly snatched it away. “I shave in the shower. Better for the skin that way.”

“Oh, is that why there’s a mirror in there?”

Rolling his eyes, Ianto placed the stopwatch on the counter and grabbed at his toothbrush. “Yes. What did you think it was for?”

Jack’s lewd grin in the mirror was all the answer Ianto needed. 

_ 34\. 8:39 _

Ianto lay on his side in the darkness, trying his best not to wake Jack. They were curled around each other: Jack with a leg slung over Ianto’s, keeping him close, and an arm curled tight around Ianto’s back. Slowly, Ianto extracted an arm and reached up above them for the stopwatch that lay on the table over their heads. He clicked the stopwatch on, then tucked it between them, muffling the ticking with their bodies and sheets. 

He lay there for a while, watching Jack’s face. In the semi-darkness part of his face was covered in shadow, but Ianto could make out enough of it. The worry and stress lines were smoothed away by sleep, and a small smile graced his lips. Ianto wanted to reach out and kiss those lips, but he waited in the dark. He could see Jack’s eyes moving beneath his eyelids as he dreamed. At least it was a good dream. Some nights Jack would start awake, dragging Ianto with him, panting and sweating and clutching at him. Those nights Ianto would hold him, making soothing noises until Jack drifted off to sleep, or screwed him, or they just sat awake and talked until morning. 

Tonight though, Jack lay there, smiling into his dream. Ianto smiled as he watched him and let his eyes slip closed for a moment, taking a deep breath as he inhaled Jack’s scent. When he opened his eyes again, piercing blue eyes stared back into his. Startled, Ianto almost forgot about the stopwatch, hurriedly depressing the button at the top and bringing it up to his face. “Eight thirty-nine.” 

Jack raised an eyebrow. “You know, there are better things to do with that stopwatch besides timing me while I sleep.”

Ianto smirked. “Oh? I can’t seem to think of any.”

“Would you like a demonstration?”

“I’ve always been a hands-on learner…” 

_ 35\. 10:00 _

“What are you doing?”

Ianto didn’t turn around when Jack walked up behind him. He was staring intently at the cog door, stopwatch in hand. Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto, and he relaxed back into the embrace slightly. “Timing.”

He could feel Jack’s neck crane forward, trying to look down at the stopwatch he held in his hand. “Timing?” Jack’s hips shifted and pressed up against Ianto. “Timing what?”

With a smile and a playful shove, Ianto shook Jack off of him. “Not anything like that. I wanted to see how much time elapses between employees arriving in the morning.”

Ianto listened to Jack’s footsteps retreat, obviously uninterested in his little experiment. However, a few minutes later the footsteps returned, followed by a now-dressed Jack sitting down at Ianto’s feet. Jack swung his legs over the edge of the railing and kicked them impatiently, gazing at the cog door with Ianto. 

They weren’t waiting long. A few minutes (and one hurried dissuasion of Jack and his roaming hands) later, the proximity alarm sounded and the cog door rolled open. In walked Toshiko, fumbling with something in her purse as she stepped over the threshold. Ianto started the stopwatch with a click, glancing down at Jack as he did so. “Would you be interested in placing a bet on who came in next?”

Jack craned his neck up and grinned. “Only if we bet our usual.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

Jack nodded at the door. “Gwen.”

Ianto smirked to himself, but Jack was too busy focusing on the cog door to notice. Seven minutes and twenty-eight seconds later, the cog door rolled open again, alarms blaring, to reveal… “Owen. You owe me later.”

Jack scowled at Owen, but then turned back to Ianto, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Well, why wait? We could-”

Ianto clicked the stopwatch, resetting it and then clicking it again, making a note of the time between Tosh and Owen’s arrivals. “Working, Jack.”

As they waited for Gwen, Jack fidgeted as he grew impatient, finally hauling himself to his feet with the railing and standing next to Ianto. He leaned in slightly, so that their shoulders were touching. Ianto didn’t move away. He glanced over at Jack, who appeared to be staring perfectly innocently at the door. “I know what you’re doing.”

Jack turned to look at Ianto, his grin not helping project an air of innocence. “What am I doing?” His eyes flickered down, then back up. 

Ianto didn’t reply for a moment, focusing his attention on the cog door. Finally he sighed and leaned toward Jack. “As soon as Gwen walks in, we’ll go back to your office and-” The alarm chose that moment to sound as the cog door rolled open to reveal Gwen. 

Before Ianto had even clicked the stopwatch Jack had taken off toward his office. Ianto glanced around, starting after him as he scribbled notes to himself. “Twelve minutes, thirty-two seconds. That’s an average of…exactly ten minutes.”

Ianto stopped for a moment checking his math. “Huh. Funny how that worked out.”

“Ianto! Let’s go!” Shaken from his reverie, Ianto rushed into the office to claim his reward. 

_ 36\. 10:42 _

Jack pulled up the CCTV located outside Ianto’s apartment. He was bored, and Ianto hadn’t come into work yet. Drumming his fingers, Jack started forward when Ianto’s apartment door opened. Ianto turned and appeared to be locking the door before walking down the stairs to his car. 

An idea flashing through his head, Jack fumbled around in his desk drawer, pulling his hand out a moment later, stopwatch gripped in it. Jack waited for Ianto to start the car and put it in drive before he started timing. Intently Jack stared at the screen, mentally estimating how long it would take Ianto to get to the Hub. Actually, Jack had no idea how long it might take for someone driving sanely, at the speed limit; Ianto had only ever rushed them to his flat, clothes halfway off, and Jack fundamentally didn’t believe in speed limits.

Jack amused himself by zooming in the CCTV cameras, watching Ianto mouth lyrics to a song Jack couldn’t hear. At one point Ianto even bobbed his head and tapped his hand a bit on the steering wheel: how extroverted of him. Jack smiled fondly at the screen and shifted. He would have to attack Ianto as soon as he came in; of course, it was entirely Ianto’s fault for being too irresistible.

Switching to the internal CCTV as Ianto drew closer to the Hub, Jack waited for him to pull into a spot and put the car in park. As soon as he did, Jack depressed the stopwatch button. Ten forty-two. A moment later the stopwatch lay abandoned on Jack’s desk – maybe Jack could convince Ianto of morning car-sex.  


_ 37\. 12:14 _

“Do you think we have time to eat in this morning?”

Jack stretched and wrapped his arms around Ianto. “Why? You want to make breakfast?”

Jack felt Ianto’s warm breath on his neck and he shivered. “Yeah. Thought it could be a nice change, some eggs, bacon, toast, you know.”

“Mm. Yeah, I think we have time. Tosh can handle ten minutes alone in the Hub.” Slowly, Jack let his hand slide down Ianto’s back, groping…

“Jack, if you want a home-made breakfast, remove your hand and let me get up.”

“I’ll help you _get up_. Besides, breakfast is overrated…” Jack attempted to kiss Ianto, but he pulled away and rolled out of bed. 

“I’m going to make breakfast. Feel free to join me.”

Jack allowed himself a few moments contemplation of Ianto’s arse as he moved around the bedroom, slipping on pajama bottoms all too soon. As soon as Ianto left for the kitchen, Jack groaned and rolled out of bed. Glancing at the nightstand, he noticed the stopwatch and picked it up. 

Stretching until his spine popped, Jack made his way slowly into the kitchen. Ianto was just turning on the stove, assorted dishes and pans spread out on the countertops. Jack began timing and sat down on a barstool, watching Ianto busy himself with the food, breakfast aromas quickly filling the kitchen. 

Twelve minutes and fourteen seconds later Ianto set a plate down in front of Jack. Poached egg, toast, bacon, and fruit filled the plate, and Jack tucked in appreciatively. Ianto set his plate down next to Jack and walked around to sit with him. “Jack! Put some pants on!”

_ 38\. 15:24 _

First, Ianto kissed Jack’s forehead. Then both eyelids, then his nose. Hovering over his lips, Ianto opted for a light peck, as much as Jack tried to deepen the kiss. He kissed both Jack’s ears, turning Jack’s head lightly to reach each one. Next was Jack’s throat, which he kissed a line down, veering off to the right when he reached his collarbone. He kissed a line down Jack’s left arm, darting his tongue out into the crook of his elbow, eliciting a gasp and then a groan from Jack. Each of Jack’s fingertips received a kiss, and then Ianto moved over to his right arm to repeat the process. Arms done, Ianto kissed his way down Jack’s chest: each rib, nipple, and muscle enjoying light contact with Ianto’s lips. Next came Jack’s navel, and then…

Ianto ignored where Jack obviously wanted him to go, and instead made his way down Jack’s left leg, planting a kiss every few centimeters. He gave Jack’s toes the same attention he gave his fingers, then switched legs, moving his way from bottom to top. Hovering over Jack’s groin, Ianto smirked up at Jack, who just looked down pleadingly. Hands gripping Jack’s hips to hold him in place, Ianto placed tantalizing kisses down Jack’s shaft, on the tip, and then one on each of his balls. Jack groaned and tried to writhe beneath him, but Ianto kept him in place.

“That’s time. How’d I do?” 

            Jack grumbled as Ianto crawled up his body to check the stopwatch. “Can’t we just check it later…

            “Fifteen twenty-four. What were you saying, Jack? I was going to go get ready for bed…”

            The stopwatch fell from Ianto’s hand as Jack dragged him in for a vicious kiss.   


_ 39\. 15:27 _

Jack’s command carried through Ianto’s small apartment. “Ianto! Come to bed!”

“Ten minutes, Jack. And if you bother me again, not only am I withholding sex, but you can get your own coffee for the rest of the week.”

Jack threw himself backwards on the bed, staring at the ceiling moodily. Turning his head to one side, he noticed the stopwatch on Ianto’s nightstand. He picked it up, depressing the button and listening to it tick soothingly. 

Eventually Ianto padded into his bedroom, scratching at his bare chest lazily. “I swear, you have the patience of a child sometimes.”

Jack stopped the stopwatch as Ianto climbed into bed and pressed up against him. Pressing his face into Ianto’s hair and breathing deeply, Jack mumbled, “What were you doing?”

“Why?”

“It took you…” Jack checked the stopwatch, “fifteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. What takes that long?”

Ianto snatched the stopwatch out of Jack’s hand and reset it, before carefully placing it back on his nightstand. “Just writing in my diary.” 

Jack slipped a leg over Ianto and began kissing his neck. “Oh? Anything good?”

Beneath him, Ianto shifted into the kisses, offering up more skin for Jack’s mouth to enjoy. “I can’t seem to recall anything. Perhaps if I had something worth recording…”

Jack made sure the rest of the night was worth recording.  
  


_ 40\. 23:14 _

Jack’s hand slipped into Ianto’s as they sat on the couch one night. Not acknowledging it, out of fear that the contact would be retracted, Ianto slowly put his right hand in his pocket and pressed his stopwatch. The ticking was muffled by the sound of the movie they were watching.

“Now, you see that girl by the pool there? The brunette?”

Jack pointed at the screen with his left hand. “That one?”

Ianto nodded. “What do you think of her?”

Jack narrowed his eyes and leaned into Ianto. “Is this a test?” He kissed Ianto lightly.

Ianto shook his head, smirking slightly. “No, just answer the question. Gorgeous, yes?”

Jack nodded critically. “Yeah.”

“She was born a man.”

Jack shrugged. “Yeah?”

Sighing, Ianto turned his attention back to the movie. “That’s right, 51st century: no labels. Back in the 20th century it was quite a shock to the viewing public.”

Jack lifted Ianto’s hand to his mouth and kissed it. “Sorry to spoil your fun.”

They settled back in the couch, watching the movie. When Ianto ran out of beer he made no move to get more, preferring the feel of Jack’s hand in his to another drink. Unfortunately, Jack seemed to take this as his cue to be chivalrous and removed his hand from Ianto’s, patting his thigh before standing up. “Want another beer?”

Ianto smiled, surreptitiously clicking the stopwatch in his pocket. “Well, if you’re already up.” Ianto’s eyes followed Jack as he walked to the kitchen. Once Ianto decided he was far enough away, he pulled the stopwatch out of his pocket and checked the time. Twenty-three fourteen. New record.

_ 41\. 47:36 _

Jack and Ianto glanced across the table at each other as the UNIT chief droned on and on about some sort of potential alien threat. Maybe. Jack honestly couldn’t recall _what_ the UNIT chief was talking about, he just knew that it had been around twenty-five or thirty minutes, and no one beside the chief had said a single word. 

Jack furrowed his brows in question at Ianto, who glanced down at the stopwatch in his hand. Glancing over at the screen where the chief was, he mouthed at Jack _thirty-four_. Jack refrained from groaning and cutting the chief off. This had to be his and Ianto’s _worst_ idea for the stopwatch. No talking, no interrupting, no encouragement: how long would someone from UNIT talk uninterrupted? Jack shifted and looked over at Ianto, who was at least trying to look like he was paying attention. He never thought it could be this long.

Forty-seven minutes and thirty-six seconds into the chief’s speech, he paused. “Does this sound agreeable to you men?”

Jack shook himself out of his reverie about how delicious Ianto would look covered in whipped cream and nodded. “Yeah, uh, fantastic. Sounds great. Listen, we have some business to attend to here…” he fumbled, looking to Ianto for support.

“Ah, yes, we’re predicting a spike in rift activity in ten minutes and we need to get to the location.”

“So thank you for your time…”

Jack jumped up and dragged Ianto out of the room, grumbling the whole way. “Never again.” 

_ 42\. 58:03 _

Ianto gripped the stopwatch tight enough to leave red indents in his skin. Twenty minutes had passed already. Twenty minutes since he had shouted, Jack had shouted, and Jack had stormed out, presumably to find some rooftop somewhere to brood.

He could understand why Jack was upset, he really could. Jack had to sit by today and watch, helplessly, as Ianto had a gun pointed at his head. But that was no reason to coddle Ianto, to try and bury him in archive work, and coffee making, and dry-cleaning…all those office boy errands he did before he became a field agent. Which, he had pointed out, he had to become because Jack _left them_ and they needed someone else in the field. 

Ianto grimaced, rubbing the cool face of the stopwatch across his forehead. That had probably been a low blow, bringing up Jack’s absence. It only served to make things worse: once Ianto brought up Jack’s absence, then Jack brought up Lisa, and the whole conversation had spiraled down into a shouting match over Jack’s inability to love (not true), and Ianto’s tendency to love too much (only true for two people). _“Like a girl!”_ Jack had shouted, just before he stormed away. Ianto would have laughed at the stupidity of Jack’s comment if he hadn’t been so angry.

Twenty-seven minutes. Determined not to be the first to crack, Ianto went over to Owen’s workstation and started organizing some computer files. He lost himself in the work – organizing and cleaning up was his meditation, his way of calming himself down. Before he knew it another fourteen minutes had passed. Forty-one minutes. Ianto scrubbed the back of his head with his hand, eyes flickering between the stopwatch and the files he had just finished sorting. He would just check the CCTV, find out where Jack was. It wasn’t like he had to go to Jack once he found him…

Ianto opened up the CCTV feeds on a different screen, rapid-cycling through all the rooftop cameras. He found him, quite expectedly, on the tallest building in the city: coat billowing out behind him, face set stern and unreadable. Ianto sighed. Jack didn’t look like he was coming down any time soon. Convincing himself this made him the better man, and that it wasn’t losing at all, Ianto grabbed his coat and stopwatch, setting off for Jack.

As he stepped out onto the roof Ianto glanced around, pausing for a moment when he spotted Jack. He probably heard the door open, knew that Ianto was here. Silently, Ianto approached Jack, stopping when they were level with each other. He waited a moment in silence, just staring out at the city with him. He slipped his hand into Jack’s, pressing the stopwatch into his palm. “Fifty-seven minutes.”

Jack extracted his hand from Ianto’s, but kept his grip on the stopwatch. After a moment’s pause he glanced down at it. “Fifty-eight minutes, three seconds.” He quirked an eyebrow in Ianto’s direction, handing back the stopwatch when Ianto refused to smile. “Why’d you come up here?”

“Stopwatch was about to roll over at the hour, didn’t want to have to keep track of hours myself.” Ianto reset the stopwatch and tucked it into his pocket. They lapsed into silence again, tension still there. “Jack, I-”

Suddenly Jack’s lips were on his, arms wrapped tightly around him, pulling him in close and crushing their bodies together. Ianto relaxed, opening his mouth as his body melted into Jack’s. Their tongues slid over each other’s, desperate to make contact, to reaffirm life. Abruptly Jack pulled back, but pulled Ianto into his chest, fingers running through Ianto’s hair. “Don’t. Come on, let’s go back to the Hub. Everyone else has gone, right?”

Ianto closed his eyes, lost in Jack’s warm embrace. He couldn’t stay there forever, couldn’t stay safe for Jack forever. It just felt too good not to melt into the fantasy, just for a little bit. “Yeah. Let’s go back.”  
  
  



End file.
